Wendell Berry was into sustainable agriculture and the local foods movement long before it became fashionable. Through a series of essays, Berry tells why more Americans should be farmers. I did enjoy some of his thoughts. For example, he believes the decline of the family is related to the decline of farming. Other comments are made to startle readers. For example, he characterizes Americans as lazy because they aspire for retirement ('doing nothing".) The quality of writing is fairly consistent and good throughout the series of essays, but the subject matter of some essays is far more interesting than that of others. ( )

Wikipedia in English

Only a farmer could delve so deeply into the origins of food, and only a writer of Wendell Berry’s caliber could convey it with such conviction and eloquence. Long before Whole Foods organic produce was available at your local supermarket, Berry was farming with the purity of food in mind. For the last five decades, Berry has embodied mindful eating through his land practices and his writing. In recognition of that influence, Michael Pollan here offers an introduction to this wonderful collection.

Drawn from over thirty years of work, this collection joins bestsellers The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Pollan, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver, as essential reading for anyone who cares about what they eat. The essays address such concerns as: How does organic measure up against locally grown? What are the differences between small and large farms, and how does that affect what you put on your dinner table? What can you do to support sustainable agriculture?

A progenitor of the Slow Food movement, Wendell Berry reminds us all to take the time to understand the basics of what we ingest. Eating is an agriculture act,” he writes. Indeed, we are all players in the food economy.

(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 30 Sep 2013 13:54:14 -0400)

▾Library descriptions

Long before organic produce was available at your local supermarket, Wendell Berry was farming and writing with the purity of food in mind. For the last five decades, he has embodied mindful eating through his land practices and his writing. In recognition of Berry's influence, Michael Pollan offers an introduction to this new collection. "To read the essays in this sparkling anthology," he writes, "many of them dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, is to realize just how little of what we are saying and hearing today Wendall Berry hasn't already said, bracingly before." This compendium joins today's bestsellers as essential reading for all who care about what they eat.… (more)